By using micro data from the Russian Household Budget Survey of 2004 and 2009, this study analyzes whether food production on garden plots (or, personal subsidiary husbandry), a traditional activity in rural Russia, functions as a safety net for rural households in the event of an income shock. The empirical results reveal that poor rural households are more active in assuring the food security function of their garden plots in the event of an income shock. This demonstrates that production on garden plots could help rural households buttress against an income shock and help poor rural households, in particular, escape poverty.